Monday, May 28, 2012

For the next few weeks, it is going to be a little tough for me to write up a Dvar Torah (though I will try my best to come through). So I figured I would enlist my reader's help with this. If anyone is interested in writing a Dvar Torah for one of the following Parshiyos: Nasso, Behaloscha, Shelach, please let me know by emailing AIMeMTorah@gmail.com. Please let me know soon!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

The main idea in Parshas Bamidbar is the
census done by Hashem of the Bnei Yisrael. Rashi explains that since Hashem
loves us so much, he is constantly counting the nation throughout the Torah,
the same way someone constantly keeps track of his favorite possessions. The
Torah gives an extensive list of the amount of people in each tribe, their
leaders, and how they camped. The fact that so many of these pesukim are
written when they are not completely necessary is one proof to Rashi’s
statement.

After the counting, the final total of
men above the age of twenty was 603,550. With twelve tribes being counted, the
average tribe comes out to roughly 50,000 men a tribe. However, one tribe is
missing, the tribe of Levi. Rashi (Bamidbar 1:49) gives two reasons for this.
First off, Shevet Levi is referred to as “לגיון של מלך”,
the legion of the King; they were the tribe in charge of the services in the
Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash and as such, they deserved to be counted
separately. Secondly, later on in Parshas Shelach, there is a decree put out on
all twenty- year olds and above who had been part of this counting here, that
they would die in the desert without entering Eretz Yisrael. This decree was a
result of the sins of both the Golden Calf and the Spies. Since Shevet Levi had
nothing to do with the Golden Calf and less to do with the sin of the Spies,
Hashem wanted to protect them from that decree and did not include them in this
counting.

As we said earlier,
the average tribe numbered roughly 50,000 men ages twenty and up. When we look
at the numbers for Shevet Levi however, something seems very off. The final
number for Shevet Levi is a mere 22,273 men! And not only that, Shevet Levi was
counted from the age of only one month and up, meaning they have twenty years
more worth of people to include in the counting and they still don’t
reach even half of the average amount! What happened to Shevet Levi?

The Ramban answers
this question with a very famous idea. During the slavery in Mitzrayim, the
Egyptians tried to control the Bnei Yisrael’s population by working them extra
hard. However, Hashem made a miracle that the Jewish women gave birth to six
babies at a time. This resulted in a population explosion, exactly the opposite
of what the Egyptians intended. Shevet Levi however, was not included in this
miracle since they were not enslaved. Therefore, says the Ramban, they grew at
a normal rate and were not nearly as big as the other tribes.

The Ohr HaChaim asks
on this answer that the midrash says that before Yaakov died, the Bnei Yisrael’s
population had already reached 600,000 men, which was the same number as when
they left Mitzrayim. However, we know that the slavery didn’t start till after
Yaakov died. So the population explosion couldn’t have happened as a result of
the slavery, it occurred before it even started! There are two answers given to
this question. The first one is, the Ohr HaChaim himself answers, that the
miracle was that the Bnei Yisrael grew at the same rate they had before despite
the hard slavery now. The second answer is that while Bnei Yisrael left with
600,000 men, the Midrash teaches us that four-fifths of Bnei Yisrael died
during the Makkah of Choshech (Darkness). So the population did grow during the
slavery, but the effects of it were wiped out before they actually left
Mitzrayim.

Regardless, the Ohr HaChaim
brings another answer to this question. (This answer is also found in the Kli
Yakar.) In Parshas Shemos, the pasuk makes specific mention that Moshe’s
father, Amram, returned to his wife, Yocheved, after they had been separated.
The reason for their separation was the decree of Paroh that all Jewish boys
born from that time on would be thrown into the Nile River. The Gemarah in
Sotah (12a) explains that the reason the pasuk has to specifically mention that
Amram returned to his wife was because the entire Shevet Levi had
separated from their wives as a result of this decree. The answer now is
obvious, because the entire Shevet separated from their wives for a significant
period of time, of course they were smaller than everyone else! In fact, the
Ohr HaChaim says that it was a miracle they stayed as big as they were!

At this point, you
might ask that while the fear of having your son thrown in the river was a very
serious one, wasn’t this an extreme measure that the entire Shevet should
separate from their wives? In fact, Miriam convinced Amram to return to
Yocheved by using this very logic! The Ohr HaChaim explains that as a result of
the slavery, Bnei Yisrael lost a little bit of their common sense and did not
think about what would happen to their kids after they were born. If they were
thrown into the river, if they had to be abandoned in the fields, it did not
really affect them. However, Shevet Levi was not involved in the slavery and were
also known as very distinguished people and therefore could not bring themselves
to have children when there was a strong possibility of their dying. Therefore,
they all separated from their wives.

This last point was very interesting to me.
The pasuk in Parshas Vezos Habracha says about Shevet Levi, “הָאֹמֵר לְאָבִיו וּלְאִמּוֹ לֹא רְאִיתִיו וְאֶת אֶחָיו לֹא הִכִּיר וְאֶת
[בנו] בָּנָיו לֹא יָדָע” “(He) who said of his father and his
mother, ‘I do not see him’; neither did he recognize his brothers, nor did he
know his children” (Devarim 33:9). This is referring to after the Golden
Calf, which Shevet Levi did not participate in, when Shevet Levi was told to
kill all those deserving of death from the sin. They did not hesitate, and
whether the person was a stranger, a friend, or even a relative, the word of
Hashem reigned supreme above all. They went out and killed every single one of
them. This same seemingly vicious and fierce tribe could so much not bear the
thought of there even being a possibility of their children being killed, that they
separated from their wives, removing the possibility of all children, not just
boys. This clearly shows that everything Shevet Levi did, whether it was to be
hard and fierce or soft and kind, was purely in service to Hashem. Small wonder
they are called “לגיון של מלך”, the legion of the King.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Due to the eighth day of Pesach falling out on Shabbos, Eretz Yisrael and Chutz La'aretz have been one Parsha off for the past few weeks. Since i am in Eretz Yisrael, I have been following the calender here. Last week we read Parshas Behar, the Dvar Torah can be found here. With Chutz La'aretz laining a double Parsha this week, we will once again be synchronized.

One of the central beliefs in Judaism is
the belief in Olam Haba, the World To Come. This is the belief that after we
pass away from this world, there is another spiritual realm where our souls
reside for eternity. It is there where we will receive our spiritual reward for
our actions done in this world. (This is
a very short explanation to a very deep subject but this is not the time or
place.) While learning about this, the common question that comes up is where is
Olam Haba mentioned in the Torah?

Out of the numerous sources, one of them
is found in this week’s parshah. “וְהִתְהַלַּכְתִּי
בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים…” “I will walk among you, I will be a God to you…” (Vayikra
26:12). Rashi explains that when Hashem says he will walk among us, it must be
referring to a place where there can actually be a concept of God walking (and
not that the Torah is using anthropomorphism to help us relate to God). This
must be in the spiritual realm of Olam Haba. (To understand how Rashi knew that
the pasuk was speaking literally and not using anthropomorphism, see the
explanation of theTzeida Laderech, a
commentator on Rashi,.)

After this first
question is answered, the immediate follow up question is that while all this
is fine, we still needed Rashi to explain to us that the pasuk is indeed
talking about Olam Haba. Why did the Torah not tell us straight out that Olam
Haba exists and how it works? The Kli Yakar brings seven different ways that
different commentators have used throughout history to answer this question. We
won’t bring all seven, but let us see a few of them. (For those who are
interested, I highly recommend reading through all seven answers. I am positive
you will find them very interesting.)

Parshas Bechukosai
starts off with Hashem telling us all the good that will be done if we keep the
Torah and Mitzvos. We will have plenty of rain, food, as well as peace amongst
ourselves and our enemies, in addition to this promise of Olam Haba. The Rambam
explains that the Torah is telling us that if we serve Hashem, He will remove
any and all obstacles in our path. However, the ultimate reward which will be
given in Olam Haba is not mentioned here in order to make sure that we continue
to serve Hashem completely just for the sake of serving Him, without any
worries of reward or punishment.

A second answer is
brought from the Ran and is found in the Sefer HaKuzari as well. One of the
greatest gifts that Hashem gave us was the ability to have a Mishkan and a Beis
Hamikdash where Hashem would rest his Shechinah in this world, giving us a
connection to Hashem in the physical world. This idea is mentioned several
times throughout the Torah. Says the Ran, if the Shechinah can connect to Bnei
Yisrael in the physical world, all the more so after our spiritual selves
separate from our bodies by death, they will be able to connect to Hashem.
However, this is only when the Mishkan or Beis Hamikdash is standing which can
only happen when we keep the Torah and Mitzvos. So really there is no need to
mention Olam Haba in this context since for anyone who thinks hard about it, it
is obvious.

A third answer comes
from the Ibn Ezra in Parshas Haazinu. He explains there that the Torah was
given to each and every Jew without exception. However, the concept of Olam
Haba was only given to a select few because since the ideas are so deep, not
everyone can understand them.The Kli Yakar explains this as follows, the
concept of the spiritual rewards that are waiting for us in Olam Haba is very
hard for a physical Human Being to understand, and therefore, only the
smartest, most spiritual people were told these ideas.

From this explanation,
we see an amazing idea. The concept of Olam Haba was only given to a few people
who were on a high enough spiritual level that they could relate to the
spiritual ideas while still in this physical world. It was up to these people
to study these ideas and relate over to us that which they could explain on our
level. But not everyone has a fair share in the understanding of Olam Haba (at
least in this world). However, the Ibn Ezra says that the entire nation
received the Torah. Not just a select few, everyone! This means that the entire
Torah, without any exceptions, can be explored and understood by every single
Jew. There are no parts of the Torah where we can claim that they cannot be
understood or applied to our lives. Everything is relevant.

Everything we do in
this world is in preparation for the World To Come. The way we are supposed to
earn our way there is by studying the Torah and keeping its’ laws. It is
vitally important for us to understand that when Hashem gave us the Torah, he really
gave it to us, completely, totally, and without exception. Because we have it
completely, every reward possible in Olam Haba is available to us. Nothing is
reserved for only a select few, every Jew has equal opportunity to
receive. This might be the greatest gift Hashem ever gave us, let’s be sure to
make the most of it.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Due to the eighth day of Pesach falling out on Shabbos, Eretz Yisrael and Chutz La'aretz have been one parsha off for the past few weeks. Since I am in Eretz Yisrael, I have been following the calender here. This week in Chutz La'aretz, they will be laining Parshas Emor, click here for the Dvar Torah. Next week, we will once again be synchronized.

“וַיְדַבֵּר יְ־הֹוָ־ה
אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר” “Hashem spoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai saying” (Vayikra
25:1). Parshas Behar begins with Hashem giving over to Moshe a detailed
explanation of the mitzvah of Shmittah. The Meforshim (Commentators) all ask,
why is it necessary for the pasuk to tell me that this conversation happened at
Har Sinai? We know that all the mitzvos were given at Har Sinai even if they
are not listed in the Torah as being given there, so why by Shmittah does the
Torah make an exception and tell me that it was told over at Har Sinai?

Rashi gives two answers. The first
answer is from the medrash, Toras Kohanim, which says that I might have thought
that while all the mitzvos were mentioned by Har Sinai, not all of its’ details
were given over at that time. Therefore, the Torah tells us here, where we are
listing all the details of Shmittah, that so too the details of every mitzvah
were given at Har Sinai as well. His second answer is his own. Sefer Devarim is
known in Chazal as “משנה תורה”, Review of the Torah, because almost all of the mitzvos
previously mentioned, as well as some new ones, are said over again in this
sefer. Rashi explains that since the mitzvah of Shmittah is one of the few
mitzvos that is not repeated in Sefer Devarim, we see that the entire
mitzvah, with all of its’ details must have been given over by Har
Sinai. Therefore, the pasuk writes “בְּהַר סִינַי”
to teach me that really every mitzvah was given at Har Sinai and then repeated
in Sefer Devarim.

The answers appear
very similar, but the Ramban finds a very big difference between the two. The
Ramban does not like Rashi’s own answer (the second answer we brought) for two
reasons. First of all, there are many mitzvos besides Shmittah which are not
repeated again in Sefer Devarim so we cannot necessarily learn anything from
the fact that Shmittah was not repeated either. Secondly, why do we connect the
mitzvos said in Sefer Devarim to Shmittah in the fact that all of their details
were said over at Har Sinai? Perhaps the general rules of the mitzvos were said
over at Har Sinai while the details were said over in Sefer Devarim and the
reason why Har Sinai is mentioned by Shmittah is because its’ details were
given over there as well. But only the mitzvah of Shmittah is like this,
meaning that there is absolutely no connection between Shmittah and any of the
other mitzvos! The Ramban has no problem with the medrash, however. Earlier in
Parshas Mishpatim, the general rule of Shmittah was given (See Shemos 23:11),
while the details are given here. Later on in Parshas Bechukosai, the pasuk
says, “אֵלֶּה הַמִּצְוֹת אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶת מֹשֶׁה
אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהַר סִינָי” “These are the commandments that
Hashem commanded Moshe to the Bnei Yisrael on Har Sinai” (Vayikra 27:34).
By writing “בְּהַר סִינָי”, this pasuk connects
all other mitzvos to Shmittah and teaches us that the mitzvos were taught in
separate general and detail lessons, all at Har Sinai.

The Seforno brings the
medrash from Toras Kohanim to answer our question and then asks one of his own.
The Seforno learns that the Torah was not written in order of how events
happened, so if this mitzvah was actually given at Har Sinai, way back in Sefer
Shemos, how come it was told over here at this point? He answers that at this
point in time, before the sin of the spies, the Bnei Yisrael were on the verge
of entering Eretz Yisrael. Therefore, Moshe told over the mitzvah of Shmittah
since their stay in Eretz Yisrael was dependent on the keeping of that mitzvah.
(For more on this idea, see [26:34].)

The Kli Yakar has his
own idea to answer our question. When Moshe went up on Har Sinai for the first
time to receive the Torah, forty-nine days had passed since Bnei Yisrael had
left Egypt. Until that day when the Torah was given, Har Sinai was nothing more
than a simple mountain. Now it was given a much higher level of spirituality.
Therefore, it would make sense to assume that on the day the Torah was given,
it became forbidden to do any sort of agricultural work on Har Sinai. At that
time, Hashem decided to take this idea of seven sets of seven and the fiftieth
day afterwards and give it to Eretz Yisrael and make it forbidden in
agriculture as well. Therefore, every seventh year we have Shmittah, and every
fiftieth year, Yovel, where it is forbidden to do any labor in your fields. Har
Sinai, the place where the Torah was given, and Eretz Yisrael, where, Chazal
teach us, the air itself makes you wiser, and where Chazal say “אין תורה כתורת ארץ ישראל”, “There is no Torah like the Torah of
the land of Israel”, these two places should share this special kedushah
where physical labor is forbidden, allowing you to focus completely on the
study of Torah.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Due to the eighth day of Pesach falling out on Shabbos, for the next few weeks Eretz Yisrael and Chutz La'aretz will be one Parsha off. Since I am in Eretz Yisrael, I will be following the calender here. This week in Chutz La'aretz they will be laining Parshas Acharei-Kedoshim. For a link to the Dvar Torah, click here. We will continue to be one week off till Parshas Bechukosai.

This week's Dvar Torah is dedicated L'ilui Nishmas my Great-Grandfather, Phillip Grossman פייבל ראובן בן מרדכי, who was niftar this week. Whatever he did, he always, always gave his maximum effort, every single time.

In Parshas Emor, Hashem explains the
different Yomim Tovim (Festivals) to Moshe in order for Moshe to tell them over
to Bnei Yisrael. The dates, obligations, and a short explanation of each Yom
Tov are written by each one. By the holiday of Succos however, a different
element is introduced.

In Perek 23 Pasuk 36, the pasuk says, “שִׁבְעַת יָמִים
תַּקְרִיבוּ אִשֶּׁה לַי־הֹוָ־ה בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ יִהְיֶה לָכֶם
וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם אִשֶּׁה לַי־הֹוָ־ה עֲצֶרֶת הִוא” “For a seven-day period you shall offer a fire-offering to
Hashem; on the eighth day there shall be a calling of holiness for you and you
shall offer a fire-offering to Hashem, it is a restraining (עצרת)…” (Vayikra 23:36). Till this point, only on Pesach do we
have a day of Yom Tov followed by five “normal” days, what we refer to as Chol
Hamoed, followed by another day of Yom Tov on the seventh day. Succos has this
same seven day structure as Pesach but an eighth day is added to the cycle
which is also Yom Tov. What is the purpose of this last day and why is it referred
to as Atzeres (עצרת)?

The Seforno explains
that this word “עצרת", should be
understood based on its literal translation, meaning “a restraining”. While we
have an obligation to refrain from work on Holidays, we also have an obligation
to stop and reflect on the time we are spending in Yerushalayim and the Beis
Hamikdash. With all the preparations for Yom Tov and the excitement of the Chag
itself, it is very easy to lose sight of the opportunity presented by this Holiday,
namely, the opportunity to rejoice in our service to Hashem in the holiest spot
on Earth. This is especially applicable by the Chagim of Pesach, Shavuos, and
Succos where there is an obligation to celebrate in the Beis Hamikdash. By
having a day of Atzeres, we can stop and redirect our thoughts towards the
celebration of Hashem and the Torah.

But why do we need an
entirely new day for this redirection? Why don’t we just do it on the seventh
day of Succos? Perhaps we can use Rashi’s explanation on our pasuk to answer
this question. He compares the holiday of Succos to a King inviting his son to
the palace for a tremendous feast which lasts several days. When the feast is
finally over, the King is sad to see his son go and asks him to stay one more
day since, “קשה עלי פרידתכם” “Your departure
is hard for me” (Rashi on Vayikra 23:36). The day of עצרתis not only the day where we redirect our thoughts
towards Hashem, it is also the day where Hashem redirects his thoughts towards us.
As a result, this day ends up being a day where both Hashem and the Nation of
Yisrael make each other the most special thing to them.

The question arises that after we see
how special the eighth day of Succos is, why do we not do the same thing on
Pesach? We have mentioned a couple of ways how Pesach and Succos are similar, they
both are seven days long with two days of Chag, you are required to travel to
Yerushalayim to both of them; so why do we not make an Atzeres on Pesach as
well?

The Ramban explains that Chazal in many
places refer to Shavuos by a different name, Atzeres. Chazal are teaching us
that the fifty days between Pesach and Shavuos are really in the category of
Chol Hamoed, all leading up to the day of Shavuos which is really the last day
of Pesach! On the day we celebrate the giving of the Torah, what better way is
there to celebrate the everlasting bond between Bnei Yisrael and Hashem than having
a day of Atzeres where we stop and redirect our thoughts towards Hashem while
he does the same towards us.

As we get closer and closer to Shavuos,
we are working to get to a level of Kabbalas Hatorah, Acceptance of the Torah, culminating
in our celebration on Shavuos. As we prepare ourselves, we must keep in mind
that Shavuos is also the day of עצרת, the day where we re-direct and re-commit our thoughts to
serving Hashem. Putting all
this together, it comes out that Shavuos is one of the most important days of
the year! We re-accept the Torah, gather our thoughts back towards Hashem, and
Hashem makes an extra commitment towards us, all in one day! If we can prepare
ourselves properly for this upcoming Chag, there is no telling how much we can
accomplish.